Art of War
by Moontigerz
Summary: A teenage girl and her trans-fan 6 yr old brother get sucked from their normal everyday lives by an unknown force, while out for a ride one day. Little did they know that her brother was going to be a key factor in an alien war, and she was going to have to protect him with everything she has, while also fighting her own battle, as she soon realizes she is turning into one of them.
1. The Storm that brings the Spark

**Art of War**

Chapter 1

The Storm that brings the Spark

* * *

_Dear Journal,_

_Life was normal, well more then normal. I was just your average everyday teenage girl, lots of friends, somewhat of an artist, an annoying little trans-fan dork of a brother and family issues, well, mostly daddy issues. But like every other girl i survived through it all. i guess you could say i was just about as boring as a teenager could get._

_I thought i was pretty boring, but i guess with a brother who loved and craved imagination as well as a horse who represented his imagination to its fullest; i soon realized life would take me on a grand journey._

_One i would never forget._

* * *

"Mom! Kari's trying to kill me!"

I slipped as I raced around the corner after my irritating little 6 year old brother, who flailed his arms dramatically as he ran down the hall to the safety of the kitchen, where my mother awaits. I growled as I nearly crashed into the wall and continued my chase.

"The little dweeb was going through my journal!"

"More like a Diary, considering what I found in it!" Carlos shouted through his half fear, half laughing state, and I growled.

I heard an exasperated sigh as I entered the kitchen, and saw my mother turn around from the stove, the scent of our soon to be dinner hung in the air. I saw the ashamed face staring at me again, not the 'Why did you do that?' but the 'Are you really going to stoop down to his level?' look. Mentally I agreed to the later.

"Kari don't threaten your brother. And Carlos," My mother snatched the journal from his hands and handed it to me before looking back at him, "Stay out of your sisters room." I looked over at Carlos and grinned in victory, as he frowned before running off to do god knows what. I walked over past my mother and set my journal on top of the hutch. "Hey Hun, don't forget to tend to the animals, your father..."

She stopped and i knew why I frowned at the thought of my father. He wasn't a terrible father, god no! He was everything a girl could want in a father. Key word 'was'. My father had passed away about two years ago in a car accident. Worst part was, i was there with him. It was my birthday and he was taking me to a cross country event. But i was distracting him with silly antics and the other driver ignored the stop sign and slammed violently into the driver side of my dads truck, he didn't stand a chance. And everyday i regret being the one to survive it, i miss him so much and i started to even hate my own birthday, because it reminded me of the day that he left me. I also haven't even gotten into another car since that day.

The pain was still so fresh, not just in my mind but my mothers as well. Shaking my head to get rid of my terrible memories, I smiled at the thought of being with my most favorite thing in the world. Ironhide a stallion I had rescued when i found him in an abandon barn. Your probably wondering why I named him Ironhide right? Well Carlos is a Transformers fan-dork, as I call him, and begged me to name the black stallion after his favorite Autobot, and being the kind sister i was, i allowed him to name the horse. I found it annoying at first but its kind've grown on me. "Alright, Mom. Hey do you need anything from the market? I'm going to head down to get cow feed."

I grabbed my sneakers and sat on the floor putting them on as my mother hummed, "We do need milk and bread." I gave a nod as i stood grabbing my fall coat, and just as I zipped it up Carlos came screaming down the hall with his transformers towel tied around his neck like a cape and a burger king crown on, he was followed by two playful chocolate labs.

At this point I wanted out of the house before I was dragged into one of his weird 'expeditions' as he calls it. So I quickly walked out of the house closing the screen door behind me and ran towards the barn. I pushed open the barn doors letting the crisp afternoon air enter the warm barn, which was still quiet except for the warm welcome of the only horse in the barn. "Hey Ironhide," I turned on the barn lights as I walked over to the stall containing my favorite horse, who had appeared as soon as the barn doors opened. He nickered in his own gruff way as I gently patted his nose, "Love you too, buddy." I smiled as I walked further into the barn, as the other animals realized I was in the barn and began making nose for their food.

So the next ten minutes were spent filling food and water buckets, and putting each in the animals' pens. Afterwords I let the cattle out to graze, to keep them satisfied until I returned with the feed.

Walking back into the barn I headed over to the tack room and grabbed my run down saddle and bridle, then set them both on Ironhide's stall. I opened the stall door and walked in as he munched happily on his oats. Patting his side to let him know I was here, I then lifted the saddle up and set it onto his back, with a huff. I reached under him to grabbed the leather straps, and nearly fell over when I got poked in the side. Laughing I looked over as I grabbed the straps hooking them together.

And there was the nose of said horse nudging my shoulder, "Hey you got to earn your stay." I joked with him as he nickered and went back to eating. I smiled as I tightened the straps before going to get the bridle. There was a thud and I turned to find Ironhide on his back, looking at me as if saying, 'Get it off!' I laughed as I walked over and smacked his belly playfully, "Get up you old mule. We have to go." I laughed as he seemed to snort indigently and got up. Shaking my head at his strange humor I pulled the bridle up over his nose and fasten the straps together, readjusting his amazingly long mane so there would be no discomfort for him. Smiling as I dragged my fingers over the name tag sewn into the bridle, it was jagged and a bit hard to read, but it's what identified him as, well...Him.

I grabbed the reins and lead him out of the stall closing it behind me, before I lead him out of the barn. I tied the reins loosely to a pole by the barn door, before I closed said door. Turning around I nearly had a heart attack, when I saw Carlos standing right in front of me, grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. "What?" I blinked as I walked around him to Ironhide, untying the reins. "Momma gave me money to give to for the groceries."

I lifted the reins over the stallions head, "Oh thanks," I turned to take the money he held out with a smile, which disappeared when he pulled his hand back, "But! I get to go with you!" He joyful said with another grin, and I groaned realizing this would either end up in me chasing him for the money or myself getting yelled at for not being nice to my 'baby brother'. So with a very irritated sigh, "Fine, hop on."

He laughed happily, handing me the money as he scrambled around me to his favorite horse, said horse turning to look at him quizzically. "Yes! Ironhide you and I are going to go Decepticon hunting!" I smiled rolling my eyes at his trans-fan attitude, "I don't think we'll be finding any dangerous decpiti-things-"

"-Decepticons."

"Right," I grinned as he cheekily corrected me, "But if we do i'll let you and 'Hide take care of them." I grinned as I helped him onto the large black stallion, which he laughed with happiness at the thought of taking down bad robots with a horse that imitated his favorite autobot. Shaking my head I stepped onto the stirrups pulling myself onto Ironhide's back, Carlos sitting comfortably in front of me, I took the reins from his hands giving him a warning look before I gave the stallion the command to trot, and lead him down the drive and onto the side of the road as we made our way to the small town.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"Hey! I think thats a 'Con! Ironhide attack!"

My brother to a stance similar to a heroic pose, as I tied a pack of feed onto Ironhide's hunches. Said horse made no move to attack whatever car Carlos had spotted claiming to be a Decepticon. I smiled as the horse turned his head towards me, "He's a little crazy." I whispered with a grin, as the horse nickered in what seemed like understanding before turning forward again. I then tied the bag of groceries to the rope tied to the bag of feed.

It had taken sometime to get into town, we did live a good few miles away and it was now dark out, the last few rays of sunlight peaking over the mountains. The air was cold, though, the scent of rain hung in the air and the sound of thunder rolling in the sky was the only thing to break the silence. I had to hurry up though, it would be bad to ride in a storm, especially with Carlos also in the saddle.

"Hey, KK." I looked over Ironhide with a 'hmm?', seeing Carlos bent over picking something up off the ground, before running back over to me. "Here!" I finished the knot on the groceries, and tuned to him, leaning down to see what he had. The six year old handed me a stone fragment of some sort, "It looks like the shard in the movies and I want you to have it!" I blinked and took it with a smile, ignoring the strange warmth it omitted. My brother may be a pain sometime but I loved him more then anything in the world, even my beloved horse came second. "Thank you Carlos, that was really sweet of you."

I ruffled his hair affectionately, and gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek, in which he responded to with, 'Ew!'. "Ready to go?" I said ignoring his 'gross' comments, as he stopped and nodded. I grabbed a small piece of rope from the bags and tied it around the shard, until it was secured before I tied the thin rope around my neck, the shard dangling over my chest. Smiling at the simple gift i helped him onto Ironhide again before climbing up myself, and we began our trek home.

"Carlos," I spoke as I turned off the road and into the open spans of grass, as a short cut. "I want you to hang on tight, the storm may get bad and Ironhide may get spooked." I said shuffling in my seat a bit, as Carlos laughed, "Okay, but I don't see how 'Hide would get scared of a silly storm!" I frowned not really sure if he understood that his 'best friend' could seriously hurt him if he was scared enough to. I shook the thoughts away, he was too young to understand and I wasn't going to break his bubble, if you know what I mean.

His small innocent heart wouldn't understand death.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

We were closer to home now, but by this time it had already begun to rain, _hard_. Carlos had curled up closer to me with my coat wrapped around him tightly. He was more prone to hypothermia then I was at any rate, and if we got stranded out here I wanted it to be me that were sick not him. I patter Ironhide's neck as thunder rolled in the sky, "It's alright boy, you are Ironhide after all." The stallion tossed his head as if acknowledging me, but I could feel the tenseness in his muscles and the way his ears swiveled, searching for danger.

The rain was freezing, and felt like shards of ice hitting my skin, and the wind whipped at my face, making the rain hurt all the more. No doubt it was causing both the horse and Carlos stress, after all Carlos was only six and Ironhide was pulling both their weights including his own.

"Kari," I looked down, hearing the raspy voice of Carlos. _Oh no._ "Yeah, buddy?" I asked tightening my grip on the reins as well as him. "I don't feel so good." I wanted to hit myself for this, I shouldn't have let him come along. Of course I didn't know it was going to storm like this, but there's always danger out here, let it be a bear attack or storms, it was dangerous.

"I know, buddy. I know." I murmured rubbing his back, pressing him closer to keep him warm. "But remember your Lil' Ironhide. You can fight anything that comes your way." He didn't say anything but curled up closer, and I rested my chin onto his head.

And without warning Ironhide came to a complete stop, his muscles tense. I lifted my head looking around, for any sign of cougars, bears or, heaven forbid, wolves. When seeing nothing I jerked the reins slightly, "Hey, big guy it's alright. We're almost home." He made no move to..._move, _just nickered pathetically. I frowned, he had never done this before. Leaning forward I patted his thick neck, "Come on, Ironhide. I know your scared but we have to go."

I tugged on the reins more, which only resulted in him throwing his head back and backing up, "Ironhide! Move forward-!" I was cut off when Ironhide reared up in fear from the crash of thunder as a strike of lightning lit up the sky and came crashing down so close to us that I could feel the electrical currents running through me, burning me...

I wrapped my arms around Ironhide's neck holding Carlos close as he screamed, and I soon realized I was screaming, not only from fear, but from the shocking, heart wrenching pain that coursed through my chest, then all was silent as I slipped from realities grip.

And I prayed to whatever god was watching over us, that we would be okay...

* * *

**Note:** This is sort've a side story i'm not quiet sure if i will continue this that is why i request some feed back ^^ If you like the first chapter let me know and i may make this story 'official' on my list X3 btw the 'Dear Journal' things will only be at the beginning of each chapter ^^ (if i do continue) lol

Oh and if you wanna see what the horse looks like go to (just remove spaces if the link doesn't show [damn FF and its nature to hate links :| )

gallery / # / d52 scye (add to shadxamy456 . deviantart . com )

R&R please!


	2. Uncharted Territory

**Chapter 2  
Uncharted Territory**

* * *

_Dear Journal,_**  
**

_I think i've been to hell and back. My issue with life itself was already enough and now i had to deal with the trouble of finding out that i had literally almost died._

_Whats worst is when i awake, i find myself in unknown territory. And my adventure is only just beginning..._

* * *

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

**(Will Lennox POV)**

"Will."

"What?"

"You suck."

William Lennox looked over at his wife, Sarah Lennox, with a fake offended expression. He even held his hand over his heart for dramatic effect, "Ouch, that wasn't very nice!" The blond haired woman laughed light heartedly, as he made his way towards her.

Will was currently on two week vacation, and had spent most of his time with his wife and five year old daughter. He only had three days left, and had decided to spend some time with Sarah before he had to go back to work. Annabelle didn't seem to mind as long as she got to play with the 19ft Autobot, Ironhide.

Sarah and Will had gone for a trail ride that day leaving Annabelle in the weapon specialists' hands. And of course Sarah took the opportunity to joke with Will by telling him he sucked at riding. He wasn't a terrible rider, it just so happens that he liked driving more then riding. "Hey, it's not my fault. After all Ben is pretty old." He laughed patting the chestnut horse's neck, as Sarah rolled her eyes, "Nice excuse, Cowboy."

He smirked as he watched his wife turn her paint mare and continued on the path leading out to the open fields. Will leaned over patting Ben's neck, "You see, Ben. Women can be mean sometimes." The horse tossed his head, almost like he was agreeing with Will, as said man laughed at this as he moved the horse again.

It was earlier morning and the air was cool and crisp, from the strong thunder storm last night. The storm had cut out their power for some time last night and this morning, resulting in the small family spending their whole morning in each others company. Not that either of them minded.

"Will! Come here!"

The urgency in her voice made Will's heart pound rapidly against his chest and he forced Ben into a gallop, clearing the trees, "Sarah! What's wrong?" he spotted her still sitting on her paint looking down in the valley at something, before she looked back at him as he followed her up the slope. "Look." She simply said pointing into the valley as Will stopped beside her.

Standing in the tall golden grass, with its head bowed was quiet possibly the largest quarter horse Will had ever seen. Its jet black coat standing out quiet obviously against the gold grass. "What's it doing way out here?" Sarah questioned, and Will shrugged unsure of the answer. This was private property, no one was allowed on it, and this horse was wearing a rather worn out saddle and bridle.

The horse also appeared to be injured with burn marks from what he could see, and appeared to be twitching rather frequently. But what caught his attention was that it appeared to be nosing something on the ground, and Will could very faintly see something laying in the grass at its hooves. "I'm going to check it out. Stay here with the horses." Sarah nodded grabbing the Ben's reins as Will proceeded to get off the horse.

He jogged down the slope, but soon slowed down when the black horse stiffened clearly noting his presence, which was probably unwanted. Will cautiously made his way closer; the stallion turned his head to almost glare at him. Paying no mind to the moody stallion Will walked around it and looked down at the grass next to the horse.

His heart nearly stopped beating. "Sarah! Get down here quick!" He called back as he knelled down next to the two bodies on the ground, a teenager who looked to be about 18 and in her arms was a small child who looked like he was around the age of 5 or 6. Both, just like the horse, were covered in burn marks.

"Oh my God," He heard Sarah whisper as she came up behind him, "What happened to them?" She crouched down brushing her hand over the girl's brown hair which was soaked. "I don't know," He leaned forward more to check for anymore damage, and something caught his eye there was something glowing on the girls chest. He moved the girl onto her back, prying the boy from her iron grip on him, before he handed the child to Sarah, who cradled him in her arms.

Will then pulled a broken thread of rope out of the teenager's hair. Disregarding it he looked at the girl's chest, and right on her left side over her heart there was a blue glow emanating from her chest. Will glanced at Sarah questioningly, before he moved the ripped T-shirt down a bit. He shook his head thinking he had seen wrong, but there it was, a shard of some sort was lodged in her chest.

If the near panic attack for her safety didn't kill him, then it would be the heart attack from the odyssey of it. Not only had the shard been _stabbed_ into her chest, without drawing blood. But there were blue veins attached to it, almost pulsating with a strange bluish glow. "Will…" Sarah breathed, "What is that?" Ignoring her question Will reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell, punching in a coded number and waited. Faster then he expected a gruff voice answered, "What's wrong Lennox?"

"Ironhide, I need you to call Ratchet." Will stated as he stood up. "Ratchet? Why the pit-"

"Ironhide! We have civilians here who seemed to have gotten caught in the storm last night, with sever burn marks and the girl…" Will paused unsure of how to phrase it, "I think the girl has come into contact with an Allspark shard."

There was a long pause, before the weapon specialist answered, "Ratchet's on his way."

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

**(KARI'S POV)**

I'm alive. That much I'm sure of, but Oh! the _pain_.

It felt like my skin was on fire, I had a headache the size of the moon, and my heart painfully pounded against my chest, which didn't help the fact that my skin over my chest burned horribly. I groaned, not sure if I did verbally or mentally, because I was pretty sure I was unconscious, well maybe I was somewhat conscious because of the obvious pain.

I tried to remember what had happened to cause me to be in my current predicament. I felt cold and wet, but drier then I remembered. So It must've been raining…It was, a thunderstorm, and I was riding Ironhide… Carlos was there too. Then…Ironhide got spooked, and the lightning…

I forced my eyes open, seeing a white ceiling. My mind instantly thought 'hospital'. But I cut the idea out when I saw the ceiling fan and upon moving my head slowly I observed that I was in someone's room. I sat up slowly wincing lightly as the headache grew and my burns became irritated. I took a few moments to look over my body, seeing multiple bandages covering my arms, and legs, I felt bandages wrapped around my upper torso too. I was currently in a large black T-shirt and gray shorts. _Oh God, I hope it was a women that changed me. _The thought of a man changing my cloths made me sick, I wasn't bad looking, but who the hell knows what some strange man could do to you, especially when you are unconscious.

I shuddered at the thought, making my burns itch more. Whatever happened to my chest itched and burned badly, irritated I went to itch it, but stopped when my attention was dragged to the door, where I heard footsteps emanating from the hallway. The door opened and tall man entered the room, he looked to be in his late 30's maybe early 40's. He had dirty blond hair and the bluest of eyes that seemed to glow, he was also dressed in black jeans and a white shirt that had an emergency emblem on the sleeves.

_He must be a doctor._

Another man followed maybe in his late 20's, with olive green eyes and short spiked brown hair, and a soft smile plastered on his face. "Hey look who's up." He made his way over to the bed, the doctor following. I didn't say anything but watched him as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "You had us pretty worried there, Kid. How ya feeling?" I looked from him to the man behind him.

There was something off about the doctor, he just seemed out of his element...But the man before me seemed to carry an air of authority, he must be some sort of Police Officer or had even served in the military. "I'm...Fine." I muttered after some time, keeping my distance from both men, as I reached up to scratch at the bandages on my chest. "Don't scratch it."

I looked up stopping mid reach, as the doctor walked around the bed and stood next to me, "It'll be very painful if you do..." I frowned as he grabbed my wrist in one hand, putting his thumb over one of my veins checking my heart rate. I looked back over at the man on the bed, "Where am I?"

He smiled as the doctor let go of my arm, "Your at the Lennox residence." He held out his hand and I shook it, "My name's Major William Lennox. But you can just call me Will." I smiled hesitantly, his name sounded so familiar but I wasn't sure were I heard it from. He then pointed up to the doctor, "This is Dr. Richard. He's the family doctor." I nodded to him as he did back to me, "Kari. Kari Accena" I said with a smile, looking back at Will, before a sudden thought hit me, "M-My brother! Is Carlos okay?"

"Your brothers fine." Will said putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "He's better then you were, he's actually outside playing." I sighed putting a hand over my heart, wincing at the motion. "Ironhide...Is he alright?"

Will stared at me for a good while, even glancing at Dr. Richard before speaking, "What?" He seemed guarded. "My horse. Was he there? Or did you find us alone." Will straightened up and seemed to relax once he realized I was talking about my horse. What else was I talking about? "He's fine. A vet checked him out and he'll be okay." Another sigh of relief escaped me, as Will looked up at Dr. Richard, "So is she in the clear...Or?" They both looked at each other for some time like they were having a silent conversation, before Dr. Richard spoke again, "She's in the clear. But I want constant surveillance as well as to be notified if _anything_ happens."

I watched him as he gave me one last look, his eyes seeming to glow more, almost as if he could see right through me,causing a chill to run up my spine, before he turned and left. I blinked looking back at Will, "He's not a very cheerful person is he?" Will laughed shaking his head, "You have no idea how true that statement is." He chuckled and I smiled cheekily, before asking, "So am I allowed to go see my brother make sure for myself that he's okay?"

Will stood and looked down at me almost assessing if I was well enough to even walk. I felt okay, except for the constant pounding in my head and chest. He gave a sigh before motioning with his hand, "Alright, i'll help ya down."

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

When we finally came down the stairs, I was greeted with a relieved sigh and a hug from a very pretty blond woman, "I'm so glad your okay, you scared us all." She said pulling away a flushed apologetically, "Oh i'm sorry, where are my manners?" She joked, "I'm Sarah Lennox." She held out her hand and I shook it lightly, "Kari Accena." Sarah beamed happily, "What a beautiful name! We are-"

Before she could finish a screen door was slammed open with so much force I thought It was going to come off the hinges, I turned to see Carlos running at me at full sprint. "Kari!" I smiled and held out my arms as he jumped into them, with a smaller version of a bear hug. I winced slightly as he put pressure on my chest, but ignored it. "Carlos i'm so glad your okay!" I ruffled his hair as I held him and he laughed, "Of course i'm okay! After all you were with me the whole time!"

He then jumped out of my grasp and tugged on my arm, "Come on, Kari! I wanna show ya something! Annabelle showed me, and it's really cool!" I laughed, looking back at Will and Sarah, who were smiling at the display, as Carlos pulled my arm down the hall and out the screen door. Stepping down from the front porch he lead me over to a barn, pointing all the way. "Look! Look! It's Ironhide!" I groaned rolling my eyes as he pulled me to the side of the barn, where a very large black GMC Topkick truck was sitting in the shade of the barn.

A small girl was sitting in front of it and had looked behind her and waved, as Carlos let go of my hand and ran over to the truck. "Carlos it's just the same truck, its not really him." The 6 year old shook his head, looking a little put off at my words, "No! It is! Annabelle said so!" I looked down at the girl who grinned happily, I was guessing that she was Annabelle. "It's true! See watch!"

The little girl stood putting her hands on the grill of the truck, "Eye-Nide! Say hi to Ca-los' big sister!" I folded my arms as the both stared at the truck for some sort of reply, but none came. "Eye-Nide? Why won't you talk?" Annabelle asked the truck patting its hood, seeming quite upset that it had not replied to her. "Guys I don't think-" I stopped when Annabelle turned towards me, running over and grabbing my hand. "No! He just doesn't know you! Here." She dragged me over to the front of the truck and set my hand on its hood, "Say hi!" I stared at the truck, feeling the strange warmth it omitted almost like it _was_ alive. I sighed not wanting to upset the kids, "Hi, Ironhide."

Moments passed and nothing happened. I removed my hand and shrugged as I looked down at the two, "Sorry guys." I murmured walking back towards the front of the barn, just in time to see Will heading down from the house. "Hey what are you guys doing?" I shrugged looking back at the two kids as the spoke to the truck, "They trying to get me to believe that the Topkick is Ironhide." I said with a laugh looking back at Will, to find that he had taken on a rather serious and guarded look, and my smile disappeared, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, "Nothing," He turned and looked back at the kids, "Hey! Come on guys, lunch is almost done!" Both children screamed in delight and after saying goodbye to 'Ironhide', they ran up to Will and followed him into the house. I folded my arms again and looked back at the GMC Topkick. It did look like the actual truck used in the movie, it even felt like it was watching me...

"Excuse me." I jumped nearly a foot off the ground and looked behind me to see a tall man, with blue eyes, his right eye had a scar over it, and he had short black hair. Said man was currently looking down at me. He was wearing a black muscle shirt and dark army green cargo pants. The only thing I could use to describe him more, would be like he was a walking brick wall. I couldn't help but gulp as I moved back a bit, "Sorry! Is this your truck? I wasn't going to try and steal or anything...!"

He looked at me for some time, "I had no thought that you would try and steal me- my truck." I blinked hearing his hesitation, "Lennox told me to come and get you. After all you are damaged and weak." I raised a brow at him quizzically, _Damaged?_ Shaking my head I laughed nervously, "Oh okay, i'll head in now, thanks for letting me know..." I said walking past him almost in a rush. To be honest, I was a little scared of him.

I stopped then, _Wait a minute. Who is this guy? Does Will even know he's here?_ I turned to look back as I walked, "Hey, who-?" I stopped starring at the Topkick now, I even glanced around. The man that I had spoken to was gone.

_Weird._

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

I walked into the kitchen, after a good few minutes outside trying to tell myself I wasn't crazy. That man just disappeared, I even looked around the Topkick and barn in search of him, but found no sign that he was even there. This concerned me to a number of levels. Either I _was_ going crazy or I had just seen a ghost.

I shivered at the thought, hunting ghosts was not my idea of fun.

I stayed in the doorway to the kitchen, as I watched Sarah move about getting lunch ready, while Will was sitting at the island counter, looking through papers, and typing something into his laptop. Looking past Will I saw Carlos and Annabelle sitting on the floor in the living room watching Spongebob.

"Hey, Hun. You hungry?"

I turned my attention back to the blond haired woman, who was looking at me with a soft smile. I though about this as I moved to sit on the island across from Will. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning, _I think..._, I didn't feel hungry at all. I did feel extremely tired and a bit nauseous. "No...I'm fine."

Will looked up from his laptop, "You should eat. You've been out for two days." I nearly fell out of my chair, coughing as I tried to swallow my own spit. "What!" Two days? Why was I out for so long? "You've been unconscious for two days." He said almost as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "So eat. Ra-Richard wants me to make sure you stay healthy." I ignored his slip up and let my head hit the table with a light 'thud', earning another headache in the process. "Fine."

Another lapse of silence ensued, except for the annoying sound of Spongebob playing in the back ground. Will 'hmm.' and I looked up resting my chin on the counter, the feeling of nauseous rising. He looked up from his computer again, pushing it aside he leaned forward a bit, and I sat up, getting the feeling he was going to say something important. "Kira," _Oh God what?_ "I can't, well, I can't find any trace of your surname 'Accena'."

Silence.

"W-What?" How the hell could he not? My mother was a doctor and my father was in the military, the both were very well known, how could there be no trace of our family name? Will sat up looking over at Sarah before looking back at me. "Your family name doesn't exist... Nor do you or Carlos for that matter. According to military files that is."

I blinked, feeling the bile rising in my throat, and the ever pulsing pain in my chest didn't help, "D-Don't exist...?" I stood up suddenly grabbing my stomach, "Will..." He seemed to get the picture because next thing I knew I was being lead down the hall and into the bathroom and over to the toilet, where I heaved whatever was left in my stomach until I couldn't anymore.

Will held my hair, rubbing my back as Sarah came in. "Do you want me to call Richard?" Will sighed as I spit the vile stuff from my mouth, "Yeah, tell him to bring Boss, too. I have a feeling they'll know whats going."

I whined, feeling the same nauseous grow again, as Sarah left to call the doctor. The burning in my chest growing to a horrible level. I couldn't throw up anymore, and even if I tried It came out empty. I felt tears fall from the corners of my eyes, as my injuries continued to burn horribly and my headache grew to an almost unbearable level. "Will?" He hummed letting me know I had his attention. "What's happening...?"

There was a moment of silence before he sighed, "I don't know. But Kari." He handed me a wet rag as I sat up, "When Richard and the Boss get here, their going to ask questions and want answers. I need you to answer everything."

I looked up at him from my spot on the floor, "Why? Are they going to... Interrogate me or something..." Will shook his head and he kneeled down beside me. "No. But you and your brother have been speaking of things that are classified above top secret." I stared up at him as if he had grown a second head. What have we said that may have been classified? "And I believe they may know the cause of your sickness..."

I have a bad feeling that at the end of this day, I'm going to be deemed insane.

* * *

**NOTE: **Omg! :O 5 reviews in one day, what! And so many Author/Story/Favorite alerts too! I love you guys! XD So you guys have asked for it and i give you it ^^ Now remember i am just one person writing this, i don't have beta readers and i'm not very literate XD So bare with me. ^^

Oh BTW All grammer and spelling errors are Megatron's fault :3

**R&R please!**


	3. Course of Action

**Chapter**** 3**

**Course ****of ****Action**

* * *

_Dear __journal__,_

_I __didn__'__t __know __what __to __think __about __these __people __Will __was __bringing __over__. __I __was __scared__. __I __knew __they __were __going __to __interrogate __me __like __i __had __just __murdered __someone__, __but __i __wasn__'__t __sure __why__! __And __i __sure __as __hell __didn__'__t __want __to __end __up __in __the __loony __bin __because __i __said __something __stupid__. __I __was __already __in __enough __pain__!_

_Another __thing__, __i __wasn__'__t __completely __sure __what __was __happening __to __me __but __i __know __something__'__s __changing__, __whether __it__'__s __good __or __bad __Or __even __physical __or __mental __i __wasn__'__t __sure__. __All __i __knew __was __something __was __happening __and __i __had __to __find __out __what __it __was __before __it __changes __my __life __forever__._

* * *

_Pain__. __Sickness__. __More__pain__. __Cold__. __Tired__. __Sickness__... __Oh __did __i __mention __pain__?_

I wanted to curse at everything whether it was alive or not, because at the moment everything was causing me pain. This could be possibly the most hellish day i've ever had, well, except for that one occasion concerning my father...I groaned ignoring the stray thought. I felt horrible, my chest burned more with each passing minute. I tried to help the pain by laying on my back which only hurt more because my spine felt like it was snapping in half. I absolutely hated being sick...

"_Mahalo __nui__ '__ia __ke __Ali__'__Iwahine__...'__O __Lolo__'__ulani__ '__o __ka __Wohi __ku__..." (__Greatest __thanks __to __her __Majesty__...__Lili__'__ulani __the __true __wohi __Queen__...)_

I listened contentedly to the sound of the 'He Mele No Lilo' song from 'Lilo & Stitch' playing, as I lay face planted in a pillow covered up with a thick blanket Sarah had given me. Carlos and Annabelle had stopped watching Spongebob, _Thank__heaven__..._ And they were now watching said movie as they ate their lunch.

I wasn't showing it but, I was...Scared. My mind was trying to make sense of everything that was happening. The first and most important being that...I didn't exist. Nor Carlos for that matter. No information even supported the fact that we are alive.

_What __the __hell __happened __during __that __storm__?_

I turned my head so I could see the screen of the TV as I thought. Did we die and now i'm in some messed up limbo world? Or was I in heaven and just seemed to be making randoms things happen? No, heaven isn't painful. At least I hope not. "Ugh..." I groaned quietly rubbing my forehead, as the feeling of nausea rose again. I ignored it though, I always had the feeling of nausea now, even if there was nothing left to rid my stomach of.

This was another issue. I seemed to be very sick; from what I was unsure of. I couldn't eat without it coming back up, I had multiple headaches and my body was sore not only from being sick but from the serious burns I had acquired. Not to mention the very annoying one on my chest, in which every time i tried to touch the strange bump i had found, it burned like i had just lit it on fire.

I resisted the urge to scratch at it again, knowing fully well of the pain that i would receive if i did. Instead i settled for getting up and going for a walk, maybe go check up on Ironhide. I could take it easy for a while, Will had left a few minutes ago to go pick up his 'Boss' and Richard. And to be honest i was actually contemplating the thought of leaving this whacked house with Carlos in tow.

And i had actually formulated a plan for it, but first i needed to check on Ironhide and see if he could at least carry Carlos. I know what your thinking, '_Will __and __Sarah __have __been __really __nice__, __giving __you __medical __care __and __a __place __to __rest __with __a __roof __over __your __head __and __your __just __going __to __run __from __them__?' _Well when you put it like that, it makes me feel like an ass. But that's not what i was running from, it was the fact that every time Carlos or myself seem to mention anything pertaining to Carlos' favorite little cartoon series, they seem to get, well, skittish in a way.

I wanted to laugh at it. Somewhere out there i knew there was a camera with one of my idiotic guy friends behind it, cracking jokes at my expense. And the injuries and itchiness? They were nothing but make up, fake blood, and some itch cream or some shit.

_Ah __gotta __love __your __friends__..._

I made my way out of the living room shaking my head at the thought, _Oh __they __were __going __to __get __a __punch __in __the __face __for __this __one__. _I smirked at the thought as i passed by the kitchen where Sarah happened to be doing the dishes from lunch. I ignored her when she gave me a questioning look, and continued walking. I came to the screen door seeing Ironhide standing in the paddock beside the barn grazing, and smiled with i saw that he seemed okay.

I opened the door planing on going to see him. Only i didn't expect to hear the sound of rapid running, before the screen door slammed shut by the person, and i was somehow suddenly face to face with a blond haired woman, who had a scolding look on her face.

"What?" I asked casually as she raised her finger and pointed at me as if i was five. "What is right! What do you think you're doing?" I blinked, raising a brown and pointed at the door, "Going to see my horse...?" _Do __i __need __permission__? _Apparently so because next thing i knew i was being lead away from the door, "Absolutely not! He's fine as you can see, but you on the other hand need to rest." I listened to her scolding but most of it flew over my head, i didn't need to know i was sick or injured because i was pretty damn sure i would _know_if i was.

Sarah then let go of my arm once i was far enough away from the door, she turned to look at me again and held two fingers up, pointing to her eyes then to me in the 'i'm watching you gesture', before she turned and headed back into the kitchen to finish cleaning. I sighed and rubbed at my chest, wincing but not daring to let out a cry of shock when i touched the lump over my heart.

_That__'__s __it__!_

I turned down the hall walking towards the bathroom, i had to get a better look at this. I had asked Sarah about it earlier when Will left to go pick up his Boss and Dr. Richard, and she had told me it was just bubbled skin from the burns. of course i noticed her lie right of the bat, but didn't question it until now. Her lie seemed plausible until i realized that if she was being truthful then the 'anomaly' wouldn't be _hard_.

I walked quietly into the bathroom, closing the door behind me and locking it for extra measure. I turned towards the mirror over the sink and silently glared at my messy hair i really needed to shower. I sighed shaking the thought from my head almost forgetting why i had come in here in the first place. I ran my fingers through my ratty hair quickly before glaring at the mirror again, before reaching up and grabbing the collar of my extra large T-shirt and pulled it down slightly. I looked at the bandages through the mirror, seeing the lump through them.

Reaching up with my other hand i tentatively pulled the bandages down, i was surprised at how loose the bandages seemed to be but, pushed the thought away, and gazed into the mirror to see the anomaly. And my heart nearly stopped...Actually i think it did. I stared at the image in the mirror with utter horror written across my face. There was a stone...A _shard_; Particularly the one Carlos gave me. In my chest...Like it was stabbed into my chest. But the lack of blood stains or scarring cleared that thought. What freaked me out the most was that it wasn't just the stone in my..._Heart_... It was the fact that it seemed to be pulsating a strange blue color, with what appeared to be veins coming from my own body attached to it, pulsating the same color, and the feeling of sickness returned.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to verbally yell any kind of curse word i could at anything. But the sheer shock of it stopped me from saying a word, and froze me to the spot as questions filtered through my already confused mind.

_What __is __it__!?_

_What __happened __to __me__!?_

_..._

_What __did __they __do __to __me__...!?_

I quickly snapped out of my stupor and released both the bandages and the shirt, staring at the mirror, until i looked away. Looking at the floor i grasped my head trying to keep myself stable as my thoughts raged inside my mind like a storm. I _had_to get out of here! This wasn't right, it just didn't make any sense! Sarah had told that i was just burned from the strike of lightning, but this was totally different!

I nearly jumped out of my skin when there was a light knock on the door, "Kk? You in there?" I regained myself and sighed with relief upon hearing Carlos' voice through the door. I opened it slowly and looked down at him, "Do you need something?" I asked slowly though i knew he knew something was up, _Probably __the __look __on __my __face__..._ He shook his head, "No i came to see if you were alright." I gulped, _No__. __No __i __most __certainly __am __not __alright__..._ I thought staring into his eyes seeing them growing with more concern as the seconds ticked by.

I sighed looking around the hall and not seeing another soul i bent down to his level, pushing my own growing anxiety for his sake, "Carlos. We have to go." I whispered so as not to draw attention to us. He seemed confused but it was obvious the panic was growing inside, "W-What do you mean? Why?" I sighed looking down the hall towards the screen door, seeing the colorful sky as the sun set. "I'll tell you later. But right now we have to hurry."

I then smiled, "Pretend we're on a secret mission, and we have to get away without getting detected." That seemed to brighten his mood a bit and he nodded as i stood, picking him up and made my way towards the door. All the while checking behind us to see if Sarah had saw.

I reached the door without any issues and opened it slowly, and walked out closing it just as quietly behind me. Once i was sure no one had heard us, i turned and ran down the steps of the porch and towards the paddock. I whistled lightly to get Ironhide's attention, causing him to run towards the gate, which i opened quickly letting him out before closing it. I walked towards him as he stood by seeming confused that i had not bothered to halter him in anyway. Lifting Carlos up onto his back i could the engine of cars coming down the road, and sped up my process by lifting myself onto the stallion's bare back.

There was a shout from the house, that i could only guess was Sarah's as she appeared in the doorway, and looked out at us in confusion and fear. "Kari! Carlos! What are you two doing!?" I grabbed Ironhide's mane jerking his head to the side towards the woods, _Sorry __Sarah__, __but __you __all __lied __to __me__..._ I thought angrily as i tentatively touched the stone on my chest as it burned. The sound of rumbling engines grew louder as the cars pulled into the driveway. I nicked Ironhide in the side gently, with the heel of my sneaker but firm enough to let him know we needed to book it out of there quickly.

Seeming to understand he immediately took off towards the tree's, just as i heard many other voices shouting for me to come back. I could feel Carlos shaking in front of me as Ironhide dashed through the tree's, whether it was from fear or the excitement of the chase i wasn't sure, and honestly didn't care.

He didn't need to know that we were never _never _going back.

Whatever happened to me, i wasn't going to allow it to happen to him.

* * *

**Note****:** I am so sorry! I didn't mean to put this off for so long, but i had a bad case of writer's block (and art block for that matter) and was lacking inspiration. This story is still going to continue! I have a lot planned for it (it's just the matter of getting it from my head onto the paper...or screen whatever.) BTW it's like 1AM as i'm posting this so i didn't bother to read over so please let me know of errors and i'll try and get back to them. Anyway enjoy~

(BTW all errors are Megatron's fault :P)

R&R~

~ Moontiger


	4. Runaway

**Chapter**** 4**

_**Runaway**_

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~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

_Dear Journal,_

_Change is not something that i'm oblivious too. After all i had moved homes many times and many new friends over and over. I even lost my father and had to adapt the change it made in my life and learn to live without him._

_But this. This was different. I was physically changing and this time i'm not sure if i can adapt it..._

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

The silence was almost deafening.

Carlos was oddly quiet, since the first hour past and he had realised we weren't going back. I could tell he wanted to ask so many questions, but i guess my own cold silence stopped him from speaking. The six year old was laying across Ironhide's withers and neck, lazily playing with the part of his mane i wasn't holding onto. I could see his eyes drooping a clear sign he was tired, but probably didn't want to sleep incase something happened.

I sighed quietly. I really should have thought this through more, i wasn't sure where we were or if there was a city somewhere we could hide in. All that i knew was that we were probably still in Will's land so we had to be even more cautious, but i couldn't ignore the fact that both the horse and the boy were tired. I sighed a little more agitated this time. There were so many thoughts running amok in my head, first and foremost. What i had just done and why.

_I ran away from them._ I mused silently thinking it over. The whole hour that we had been out here had been spent running. Will and his friends seemed very intent on keeping us there, and i had a feeling that i knew why. I was some fucked up experiment that went wrong and they didn't want '_it_' getting out into the world... Okay so maybe that's a little exaggerated but what am i supposed to think when i have a shard the size of my palm stabbed into my chest?

I laid a hand over my heart, where the stone was. It still hurt, but now that i knew it was there, it was like i could actually _feel_ it. Like it was alive. Lifting my hand i rubbed the bridge of my nose in irritation, a rock couldn't be alive... With a stressful sigh, i pulled Ironhide to a slow stop. Carlos jerked up suddenly aware that we had stopped, and gazed around rapidly looking for the reason. I turned in my seat and looked over my shoulder, behind us into the dark forest, listening intently. I couldn't see any lights that would signify another's presence, and the only sound i could hear was the rapid breathing of Ironhide and the small animals within the trees.

"Kk, what are we doing?" I turned forward again and gazed down at Carlos, who had somehow manage to completely turn around in his seat, and now sat facing me. I thought for a moment before smiling, "Remember how you've always wanted to go camping?" He nodded quickly, a smile appearing on his face, "Well today is your lucky day." I said with a smile of my own, before jumping down from Ironhide's back and turning to help him down as well.

"Really!? Is that why we came out here tonight? To go camping?" He beamed with happiness as i set him on the ground, I just smiled and nodded to every question...Except the next one, "So does that mean we're going back to Will's tomorrow?" I paused, frowning. I didn't want him to get upset or become mad at the answer so instead, i figured i 'sugar coat' it just for him. "Well no." I saw his smile quickly turn to a frown and i quickly covered my answer up, "Because we are spending the weekend out here. We're still playing a game remember?" I asked with a mischievous smile and he nodded, "We still can't been seen by anyone else and have to survive out here alright?" He smiled and nodded quickly, "Okay, Kari. But we need code names!" I pursed my lips, with a slight frown, already regretting the idea of making this a game.

"Code names?"

He nodded vigorously before tapping his chin with his finger in a thinking manner, "Um, I'll be... Crazy Robo!" I literally facepalmed and laughed. Sure Carlos could be annoying at times but these are the moments that i love, when he can easily make one forget the situation they're in and make them laugh.

Sighing and ruffling his hair lightly i laughed again, "Alright, Crazy Robo. So what's my code name, hmm?" I asked as i grabbed Ironhide's mane and motioned for Carlos to follow, who did so willingly as he thought of a name for me. I lead them through the tree's to a very small clearing, that lit up from the soft light of the moon. "I know!" I blinked and looked back at Carlos who was tugging at the over sized T-shirt i had on, and pointed upwards, "Look."

I did so pursing my lips, as i gaze up at the moon, "And...?" He laughed as i looked back at him, "Your code name! It'll be Moon!" I tilted my head gazing back up at the shining sphere in the sky, and smiled, "Alright then, call me Moon." I smiled and poked him lightly in the ribs making him laugh. "Now Carlos i think it's time for bed." He pouted, "I'm Crazy Robo! And i'm not tired," I shook my head and pulled him over to where Ironhide was already laying, beside a large tree, "My apologies, Crazy Robo. But it is time for bed."

I sat down beside the tree, leaning against it, as Carlos came a plopped down next to me and wrapped his arms around me leaning into my warmth, "Okay, maybe i am a little tired..."He replied with a yawn. I smiled a bit as he drifted off, his breathing soon evening out.

My soon faltered and i winced slightly rubbing at my shoulder with my free hand, feeling the muscle's tense and harden. I gave a painful sigh before looking down slightly, and under the white T was the small blue light that signified the shards presence. I watched it pulse erratically with each beat of my heart. There was a nicker from beside me as my head was lightly nudged. I looked away removing my hand from my aching shoulder and setting it on Ironhide's head, petting him. "I'm okay, big guy...I hope." I muttered resting my head against the tree trunk, as the stallion laid back down. I could only imagine what was going to happen to me. Most probably death. And if that was so what was going to happen to Carlos? Without me there to help him, he could end up out on the streets. Or even kidnapped.

I let out a shaky sigh, retaining my tears and keeping my emotions in check. I couldn't dwell on thoughts such as those right now. I need rest as did the two beside me, and my anxiety wasn't going to help Carlos if he should wake up. With deep breath i closed my eyes and let myself fall into a deep dreamless slumber.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Will had seen many things in his life, that were just downright odd. Giant sentient robots for one. But he had never seen someone, in a state of bad health and injury, run off with their sibling, when their caretakers were offering help and a home. Will and Ironhide had just returned from scouting the woods closest to their home, but came up empty. Either this girl had planned this already or that horse was fast despite his weight.

"Sarah, please calm down. What exactly happened? Did she say anything that would suggest the idea of running away?" Will asked grabbing his wife's arms gently so that she faced him. He was trying his best to keep her from freaking out and apologising to him and the Autobot's, but it just didn't seem to be working. Sarah gazed back at him, stumbling over her words. "No! She didn't say anything! She seemed perfectly fine...Physically at least. I have no idea what was going in her head!"

Will sighed, there was three reasons she would leave so suddenly. One being she was afraid of what would happen to herself and her brother after tonight. Or two, she had found the shard and feared that they had done something to her. And three, she was stubborn and didn't want any help from any of them. All being very probable. Letting go of his wife and looking back at the three holoform's standing behind the couple. His gaze drifted from Ironhide and Optimus to Ratchet, before finally speaking. "Ratchet, what would happen to her if she doesn't get the right treatment?"

The holoform that belonged to the medic shook his head, "I am unsure. I have never seen anything like it." He mused, "She was already in a severe state of health when you found her. Her nervous system in disarray from the electric shock, and her very vital system being affected by the shard in her heart..." He frowned pausing in his words.

"She'll die without proper medication, won't she?"

Ratchet glanced over at the tall holoform that was Optimus Prime and nodded, "That is the most likely to happen. And even if i could get close enough to treat her, it may not be enough." Optimus nodded before looking over at his Weapon specialist, "Ironhide, you will follow the girls trail, though there may not be much to follow the horse may have left tracks." The bulky holoform of Ironhide frowned, tracking and scouting was a scouts job not his, even so why waste his time for her? She obviously didn't want the help they were offering.

"Prime i'm still having a hard time understanding why we are even bothering with this girl? We are wasting time caring and looking for her." He was met with a stern gaze from Optimus, but Will spoke in his place, "Both the kids know of your existence, especially the boy." He glanced at Ironhide, "The kids'll become targets to he 'Con's if they learn of them figuring since their humans that their working with us." He folded his arms over his chest glancing at the rest of them, "Even so, she could be dying and the cause of it being the Allspark shard."

"Ironhide,"

"I know. Find the girl." Without waiting for the others, the holoform disappeared in a flurry of sparks, and the GMC truck outside rumbled to life before rolling away and disappearing into the darkness of the night.

Inside the house, Optimus turned from the sparks of light that signified Ironhide's leave and looked at Ratchet, "We will scout around as well, Though old friend i suggest you remain close by incase of an emergency." Ratchet nodded before he too disappeared. "Optimus." The tall man turned his blue gaze upon, Will. "The kids aren't in the system either. I don't have any records that suggest they even are alive." The Prime nodded, "All the more reason to make sure they find a safe haven with us, rather than out there alone." Then the autobot leader vanished as well and followed his soldier and medic in their search for the runaway children.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"A road?"

I glanced up and down the empty street unsure, yet glad that i had made it out of Will's land. The 'private property' post signs helped. After waking up this morning, having an odd debate about my eyes suddenly turning blue, and then me freaking out over the realization that Carlos was right, we had finally decided to move out again. Making it to the road before us by high noon, and now the question was, do we follow it?

Feeling a poke on my shoulder i looked down at Carlos, "What?" He stared at me for a moment, before shaking his head and point up the road, "There's a sign i can't see what it says though." I looked up seeing the sign as clearly as if it was right next to them. "Jasper, Nevada?" I blinked reading it over again. Jasper,Nevada 50 miles. Well this was good and bad. Good because that meant i could hide the both of us in town for a while until i figured out what to do. And bad because, i lived North Carolina. Somehow we ended up on the other side of the States, how i was unsure of, but prayed that we hadn't been kidnapped by these people.

"You can read it?" I looked back down at Carlos and nodded, "Yeah..." I didn't dwell on it though, for now i was ignoring all the weird crap that was happening to my body. Like the small bouts of numbness and pain in my limbs and the way my eyes seem to keep focusing a little too much.

"Looks like we're going to Jasper." I nudged my leg into Ironhide's side making him walk up the side of the street, out of the way of any cars or traffic. "And i keep a lookout for any 'Cons right?" Carlos asked a little too excitedly, To keep Carlos interested in our little game i threw in an idea that we were being hunted by Decepticon's and he needed to keep a lookout for them. "Yep make sure you look everywhere." i said with a roll of my eyes, as he let out an excited, 'yes!'.

We continued walking for some time, the signs we passed either advertising or displaying the distance left to Jasper. I looked on ahead uninterested in the story Carlos was telling about the 'Bots and 'Cons. A sudden sound of a car horn caused me and Ironhide to jump and Carlos to stop his story telling.

Looking beside us i saw a silver Audi R8 rolling along side us, the driver side window rolling down. I kept Ironhide walking, and kept my eyes on the man in the car, not liking the situation one bit. "Hey, what are two younglings like yourselves doing out here?" I ignored him, realizing Carlos suddenly became all too quiet now. I was trying to give the guy the hint to leave but he didn't seem to get it, "You mind helping me out? I'm looking for something."

I looked back at the man, trying to read him for any motive, but the dark sunglasses he had on were making it hard to see his eyes. "And what exactly are you looking for?" I asked cautiously, keeping my eyes both on him and on the road ahead. He looked up at me from under the sunglasses, giving me a clear view of his blood red eyes.

"A silver shard. About the size of your palm."

My heart nearly stopped, and before i could answer him i felt Carlos tugging on my shirt, "Moon. Can we go please?" I looked down at the small child in front of me, seeing the fear in his eyes and hearing it in his words. The fact that he used my 'Code name' alone made me alert. Turning back to the man, i replied, "No i haven't seen anything like it, sorry."

"Oh i believe you have. In fact it is on you at this moment."

_How did he-?_

"Moon! He's a 'Con!" I may be going crazy right now but i don't care. Carlos is in danger and this...Decepticon was threatening him. I kicked Ironhide in the side, probably a little too roughly then i meant too, and he bolted forward sprinting across the pavement. My heart beat rapidly as i heard the engine of the Audi growl to life and give chase. "Give me the shard human!"

_Human?_ He said human not kid, that meant that this could all be true. After all no human calls another human unless talking out species in general. So that means It could be real...

The rumbling of another engine drew my thoughts away from my panic stricken mind, and i looked up to see a black GMC topkick barrelling down the road towards us, and what freaked me out more was that there was no driver.

* * *

**NOTE: **My mind is rolling...Kind of. Once again i had a hard time writing this due to writers block but i was able to defeat the army of blockers and succeed in completing this chapter ^^

Oh and a BIG THANK YOU to **~Bee4ever **For review this story and becoming it's beta reader :) Thank you so much Bee! Lots of hugs! :)

**R&R**

**~Moontiger**


	5. Seeing is Believing

**Chapter 5**

**Seeing is Believing**

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_**Dream break**__ = *~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~*_

_**Normal Break**__ = ~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~_

_thoughts_

_'cybertronian'_

**comlink**

"speech"

* * *

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

_Dear Journal,_

_Ignorance is often what gets us killed in the long run. And yet, sometimes its often best to keep others in the dark, and lead them into a false sense of hope. I guess that's what I needed most now. Someone to tell me that everything was going to be okay; that this wasn't real, and that when I awoke the next morning the world would be normal again._

_But I didn't have the luxury of ignorance. But I could give it to Carlos, to keep him in the dark and keep him safe was best. And to do that, I had to lead him into that false sense of safety, but it was almost impossible to do when you had a bunch of robots following you everywhere you went._

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"Kari!"

I jerked back on Ironhide's mane, sending him rearing back in an attempt to skid to a halt. Which proved difficult, when said horse was wearing steel shoes, and was standing on asphalt that acted like ice to him. So instead of coming to a halt, the horse continued to try and stop as he skidded forward...Towards the oncoming truck.

Panic struck my heart, causing it to beat erratically in fear. The truck was going to hit us; a crash was inevitable. We were going to die, just like my father did in the car crash that ended his life, and scarred me in mine. I latched onto Ironhide's neck, holding Carlos between the horse and myself, shielding him from the impact.

Which never came.

I looked up from Ironhide's neck, just into to see the black truck propel itself into the air, and stared in amazement, as the truck split apart. I watched as gears and wires moved in unison, as the being soared over us. It was...amazing. I looked over my shoulder to see it crash down to the earth, in full form of a robotic being; the canons on its forearms snapping into place and whirring dangerously. I felt a tight grip on my shirt as Carlos tugged down on it, looking over my shoulder; a large grin on his face.

"It's Ironhide!" Carlos shrieked excitedly.

_He's real..._I thought numbly; tugging on 'Hide's mane as he paced in place, rearing slightly in fear at the sight of something larger then him. But I payed no heed to the horse; I was more concerned with the 19 foot _A__utobot _standing between us and the silver Audi R8 that had come to a complete stop a good 20 or so feet from the massive robot.

There was a tense silence between them, almost as if they were having an silent argument. Then the Audi R8 split apart; it's transformation more aggressive then Ironhide's. And small silver robot stood before the Autobot, with a dark grin on his face. "That's Sideways..." Carlos whispered, clutching onto my shirt; trying to hide from the glare of the Decepticon.

Ironhide's cannons whirred dangerously, and he raised them as the silver 'Con took a step forward, "Ah, Ironhide. It's always good to see the Prime's drone protecting insignificant humans." He sneered, his hands turning into guns of his own, as he continued to take cautious steps forward. I gripped my stallion's mane, ready to turn tail and run. I had faith that the Autobot wouldn't let harm come to us, but if he couldn't protect us, then running was the only option.

"You have two nano-klicks to get out of my face, or I'll blast yours." Ironhide growled menacingly, cannons glowing.

"Go Ironhide!" Carlos yelled.

I quickly put my hand over Carlos' mouth to shut him up, as the eyes of the Decepticon turned on us, and took another step forward.

"Big mistake..." Carlos muttered from under my hand; a smirk easily detected from the boy. I glanced up as Ironhide braced himself.

"Too close!" The titan shouted too joyfully, almost like he couldn't wait for a battle to happen. And then he jumped forward barreling into Sideways, practically throwing the smaller 'Con a good yard or so away.

The horse beneath us reared at the sudden movement and loud crash. I grabbed onto Carlos as we fell off the large stallion, holding him to my front, as I landed on my back to cushion his fall. I then rolled over to protect him should 'Hide decided to bring his hooves crashing down on us.

The sound of sirens brought my eyes away from the scared stallion, and towards the road we were once walking, to see a H2 Search and Rescue Hummer speeding down the road. I turned, hearing the sound of transformation to see the silver Audi R8 hightailing it out of here.

"Decepticons are chickens." Carlos laughed from under me, as I looked over, tightening my hold on him as the rescue hummer came to a stop. "It's okay, that's Ratchet." I glanced at the six year old in my arms, "He's the Autobot doctor." Carlos explained. I returned my gaze to the hummer as the doors burst open, and the first one out was the blond haired woman whom I recognised as Sarah Lennox. The second to jump out, this one from the drivers side, was William Lennox.

Sarah rushed over to us as the hummer behind her changed form; and Will ran over to calm the stallion who was still freaked, and even more so at Ratchet's arrival. I sat up slowly, still gripping onto Carlos, as Sarah dropped to her knees next to us and wrapped her arms around us in a frantic hug.

"Don't ever do that again! You had me so worried!" She pulled back, gripping on to each of us, almost as if we would disappear again. "Are you alright!? You were so sick- and injured! I thought-" The blond woman leaned forward, "Kari, your eyes; what-"

There was a rumble from above and we looked up to see Ironhide and Ratchet looking down at us, "Sarah you two can catch up later, Ratchet needs to see the femme." The black Autobot rumbled, as said medic knelt down, and Sarah stood, backing up to stand next to Will and my horse. I clutched Carlos closer to myself, as Ratchet reached forward, ignoring his protests, and the searing pain in my chest from Carlos being pushed against me.

"You stay away from us!" I screamed.

The yellow bot jerked badly, as if I had burned him; and glanced up at Ironhide, who snorted indignantly.

"Femme, let the doc help. Without it, you may offline." I blinked, confused by his choice of words, but none the less kept my glare in place. I felt a tugging on my shirt, and looked down at Carlos, whose eyes were filled with tears. I stared at him, confused; did he get hurt?

"Carlos?" What's wrong? I asked. He gripped onto my shirt tighter,

"You h-have to let him help;" he whimpered. I frowned, as he continued, "When he says 'offline', he means 'die'! And I don't want you to die!"

I stared into his eyes for some time. Offline meant death to them? So I may die? I sighed, ignoring my own fear, and nodded slightly.

"...Okay, I'll let him help." I said hesitantly. I stood, bringing Carlos with me, and reluctantly let go of him; allowing him to go stand with Will and Sarah. I turned slowly, to the sound of gears whirring, and peered up cautiously at the medic, who seemed to be studying me, before humming quietly.

"You are very brave, but stubborn." He added flatly, and I frowned. Ratchet then lifted his arm. "I will not touch you, if that is not what you want." I gestured for him to proceed, and a panel on his arm lifted, and a blue beam shot out from his arm. "I will need to use a more in-depth scan", he said. The light turned red once, and touched me; and the medic clearly frowned, as he continued to, I guess, scan me.

"W-what does that mean?" I asked cautiously, as the beam disappeared; and the robot looked down at the screen on his arm, with Ironhide casually looking on over Ratchet's shoulder.

"Primus..." Ratchet gasped. "Com' Optimus; tell him we've found the femme and will be returning to base."

"Status?" Ironhide asked.

"Urgent." Ratchet replied, shortly.

I backed up, as the medic suddenly folded down into the rescue hummer, opening the back doors, "Will, get the younglings inside." Ratchet commanded. My eyes widened, as I stared at the talking hummer.

"N-no...I-I won't get in that _thing_!" I stammered; taking a step back, again. I haven't gotten into any vehicle since my father died, let alone ones that were _alive_, and I don't plan to anytime soon.

"I am a Cybernetic organism not a _thing_." Ratchet grumbled. It-He spoke in truck form as well? I slapped a hand over my mouth realizing what I said, was indeed offending to him,

"S-Sorry...I didn't mean it t-that way..." I said. There was a snort from the hummer, and I took another step back, fearing that I angered him. I jumped when a hand was placed on my shoulder, and I turned to see Will standing beside me, along with Carlos.

"Don't worry, Ratchet's bark is worse than his bite;" Will chuckled.

I looked back at the rescue vehicle, grabbing Carlos' hand as I did.

"Still...I, uh, would rather ride 'Hide..." I muttered, turning on my heel and dragging a complaining Carlos with me towards the black horse that was standing next to Sarah. I was stopped by a hand gripping my shoulder and I turned to glare at Will. "Let go..." I snapped. He didn't move, but leveled my glare with a stern gaze.

"Why? So you can run off again?" he asked.

_Yes...No...?_

Honestly. I was debating it again. But the fact that I may end up dying put that thought to rest; I wouldn't risk Carlos' safety like that. But I did not want to get in the hummer, whether or not it was alive didn't matter. It was a vehicle, and I was not going to get into one so soon. Not after what happened to my father.

I jerked my arm out of his grasp, and glared at him. "No! I would just rather ride Ironhide, okay!?" There was a long moment of silence, and the awkwardness of what I just said began to sink in. Though Will's eyes still contained the seriousness from before, they now held a spark of amusement. And Sarah's snickering in the background didn't help either.

My face turned beet red, as I glanced up at the black Autobot, who had a look of pure confusion on his face. My embarrassment quickly turned back to anger, and I pointed towards the horse, as I glared at Will, "You know what I mean!" I snapped, thumping Carlos on the shoulder, when he started to laugh as well. Will sighed tiredly as I groaned; my head began pounding with a new wave of headaches, as my eyes blurred before starting to focus on objects again, I growled rubbing at them, "You know what; forget it. I'm not getting in any car, and that's all there is to it."

"Are you alright?" A voice asked. My hands were removed from my eyes, and I winced slightly as the sunlight made my eyes and headache worse. I blinked slowly, trying to ignore it for now, and focused on the figure before me, "Richard?" The doctor grunted; "No, Ratchet." he said. I furrowed my brows in confusion, and he rolled his eyes,

"Explanations later. Right now I need to get you to my med bay. So it's either get in my cab, or I drag you there," he ordered.

I yanked my hands away from Ratchet. "Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but i'm not going anywhere!" I turned on my heel, and walked towards 'Hide again; my world began spinning, and I was suddenly seeing three horses. Shaking my head, I continued on, only to be stopped again when a pair of arms wrapped around me, locking my arms down against my body. That's when I began to panic, and kicked my legs out in an attempt to hit my attacker, "Let go of me! I don't want to go!" I screamed. My god, was I being kidnapped again!? That thought struck more panic into me, and I screamed again.

"Great Primus! Shut the femme up!" Ironhide growled.

"Wait! What are you doing to Kk!? ...Stop!"

Something pricked my skin on my upper arm, and I glanced over in my struggles to see Ratchet with a needle. Holy mother of- They were sedating me! My head began to swim, as things began to fade in and out. And though I was slowly falling, I continued to fight as I was carried toward the rescue hummer, trying to kick whoever was holding me.

It wasn't Will, I could see him through my fading vision, carrying a distraught Carlos to the GMC Topkick robot. "No! Please... Bring him back! Don't take him from me...!" I cried, as my attacks began to slow, and I hung my head watching as Will set Carlos in the back of the truck. Before they were cut from my fading sight, as I was hefted into the hummer and laid on a gurney, I quickly reached forward and grabbed the arm that had once held me captive, and watched him pause before looking down at me.

He was familiar... He resembled the man that appeared at the barn yesterday, after the kids told me of Ironhide. It was hard to be sure; with my fading sight and all, but somehow i knew this was the same man, "Are-Are you Ironhide?" I asked. He was silent for a moment before simply nodding in response. I blinked slowly as my vision began to finally fail me. "I-If I die, protect Carlos...Please?" I whispered. He was silent, almost as if he was debating if the guardianship was worth it. Then he nodded again, his electric blue eyes seemed to glow in the fading light.

"By my spark I swear my guardianship to Carlos, should you ever pass," he rumbled.

I nodded, as sleep finally came, and the world around me became nothing. His last words echoing in my mind...

"...And may _Primus _be my witness."

*~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~*

When I first awoke, I was greeted by bright sunlight, sand and a warm breeze. I wasn't too happy about the sand at first, until I realized where I was.

I was in the middle of the frigging _desert_.

Well, sort of, there was a large expanse of desert land and cannons in front of me, and a dark forest behind me.

At first I freaked. Panicking and wondering where the hell I was, before I began to have near heart attack at the thought of where Carlos was. But before that happened, I realized something. I wasn't feeling pain. No burns, no headaches or dizziness, or even nausea. I felt okay? Rested? Rejuvenated I guess. So that must mean I was dreaming, but why would I dream of the desert? I didn't live near one, nor had I any memories revolving around one.

"So why am I here...?" I muttered, asking no one in particular, and least of all not expecting an answer. After all, I was in the middle of no where in this dream, unless my mind suddenly came up with another being to add to the strangeness.

"I have summoned you here." a voice said.

I spun in place, scanning the area around me for the being behind the voice. My eyes then landed on another human being standing a few feet from me, and my mind stopped; my heart forgetting to beat, as I stared at the man before me, who looked exactly like...

"Daddy...?" I whispered.

There he was. The tall southern man, dressed in tight fitting white T-shirt, blue jeans that always had holes in the knees, and with short brown hair; and the 5 o'clock shadow that identified him as him. I wanted to cry tears of happiness and joy. If I had indeed died, then at least I was with my father, the one who I had been without for so long, and I ran towards him, "Dad, you wouldn't believe-"

"Forgive me." My 'Father' interrupted holding up his hand and staring at me with...red eyes. I came to a immediate halt, and even backed up slightly. "You're not my father..." I frowned, anger raising in my heart. _How dare you take on my father's appearance!_

"I'm sorry if this form upsets you..." He spoke almost as if he read my mind, "I simply took the form that seemed the most appeasing to you."

_Form?_I blinked gazing over my 'Father', seeing everything that made him, him. All except the ruby red eyes. "So then who are you?" I asked the look a-like, as I stared into his eyes, seeing the age and wisdom stored in their depths.

"I am The First Prime." he said.

The First Prime? I remembered Carlos mentioning someone like him. He was the first Cybertronian to be made into a Prime, by their God...Primus, was it?

"Yes. I was the first of thirteen to be made into a Prime by Primus." he said. I blinked; are my thoughts not safe here? I wondered. "Again forgive me, I am not used to dealing with humans."

I sighed, closing my eyes, running my hand through my brown hair, before looking back up at him. "Okay, so you're a Transformer." I asked. He nodded. "So why am I here? You did say you summoned me, but what for?"

"To give an explanation," he rumbled.

He turned and began walking towards the woods. "You have asked what had happened to you..." he began. He turned when he reached the edge of the trees, his red gaze burning into my blue eyes. "Come and I will show you." I, of course hesitated; did I want to know the truth? Was what happened to me worse back home, then it was here? "If you want the truth, then follow at your own will." He continued on the path in the woods, and I sighed irritatedly, before jogging to catch up.

We walked for some time, the darkness being replaced by a thick, rain induced, fog. The trees thinning out as we strood through the disappearing woods, and rain beginning to fall. "So, where are we going?" I asked, as we entered a clearing which looked strangely familiar.

"The past." he replied. I turned to look at him, as the rain began to fall harder.

"The past?" I asked. He nodded, staring forward.

"This is where it began." he said.

I followed his gaze to see a figure moving across the clearing, with two more upon its back. "The storm." I murmured as I watched as our past selves walk. "I needed someone, with a strong spark...Heart if you will." I watched, as the scene progressed to the point Ironhide stopped.

"I found yours to be the strongest..." he started. "You were meant to die this day."

I swallowed thickly as the lightning struck, and watched as it burned and killed the beings before us. "I spoke to your God, asking him to allow me to give you a second chance." The scene disappeared, and we were now standing in a sunny clearing. "He agreed." I turned and looked up at him, as he looked down at me, "I could not simply transfer your soul here. I had to change you, to save you."

_Change me...?_

"Your brother would have survived that day," Prime continued, " But I allowed him, and your horse companion to come as well, to give you comfort from home. No doubt, you will become extremly stressed from the situation that is about to unfold."

I stared up at him as he spoke, taking it all in. This mighty being before me, had truly gone to heaven and asked my God to give me another chance, but why? My death was insignificant, why would he go through this trouble to save my life? There were so many more out there that he could have easily choosen instead. "But why? Why me, out of...billions?" I asked. Prime gazed down upon me.

"Because your heart is not plagued by the darkness your world was consumed in. You are strong and brave, though you have past events that darken your thoughts, your intentions are pure."

I smiled a bit; I didn't think of myself as innocent in terms of evil, but I was going to argue with an ancient being. "Thanks, I guess. But you mentioned change. What kind of change, exactly?" He leaned forward with a smile.

"You shall soon find out." he said cryptically.

_What the hell is that suppose to mean?_

He then disappeared in a flurry of sparks, and I fell into darkness once again.

*~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~*

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**Note:**Well, I think this is the best chappy I've written so far. (Actually took my time on it, lmao) So anyway, once again, thank you _**~Bee **_for BETA reading! (Your full of epicness!)

_**~ Moontiger**_

**R&R**


	6. A Friend Amongst Gaints

**Chapter 6**

**A Friend amongst Giants**

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**_Dream break= *~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~*_**

_**Normal Break**_ _= ~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~_

_thoughts_

_'cybertronian'_

**comlink**

"speech"

* * *

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

_Dear Journal,_

_First Prime._

_I don't really read in on Transformers, so of course I wasn't sure at first but I now know. The First Prime is a god to them. But what was I exactly to him? To be spoken to and saved by a god of an ancient civilization, well, it makes you wonder if you're even worth it._

_He told me he needed me, but for what exactly? I'm not exactly a big giant-ass robot like them. And I can't be of much help to anyone as a small, tiny insignificant human, who wouldn't even consider killing another living soul even if it saved her._

_And then that brings another question. Am I dead? I mean, he said he had saved me from death, but now I wasn't so sure. The First Prime brought me here just to make me feel pain again? Though somehow I don't think that's what he meant to do. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I'm somehow dying, even if The First Prime said I was saved from death._

_And then there's the change The First Prime mentioned. What did he mean by that? He said I had died in...'My' world, and that in order to save me he had to change me, but that didn't make sense if I still had my original body..._

_Ugh, this is giving me a headache. I just wish this change or whatever would be done and over with._

_My only hope? That it's not painful._

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Well that had to be the strangest dream-vision-thingy I've ever had.

I didn't wake up right away, though the voices in the back of my head were worrying. I'm probably going insane, isn't that lovely? Yeah, well I guess I'm still under the sedative right about now. And I was glad for it, because I didn't have to deal with anyone right now, though I was upset I couldn't wake up any faster.

I was- _am_ worried.

What did they do with Carlos? The last I saw of him, they were taking him away. To where I wasn't sure, but I hoped he was okay and I hoped that robot kept his promise. Though, it never came across my mind that I may have possibly given custody of Carlos to a 19ft tall robot, until now, though I doubt that would work. The mental image of the big black mech, Ironhide being a daddy made me laugh.

That made the voices in my head louder. They were getting annoying, rambling on about something that meant absolutely nothing to me... Wait. Did I laugh in reality? Does that mean the voices in my head aren't my insanity speaking? If so thank heaven, I can't really deal with any 'insane illusions'. And I sure as hell didn't need to explain to doctors why I'm seeing giant sentient robots and look even more like a lunatic.

So instead of worrying about the voices, I choose to ignore them and try to drift off back into sleep. After all I felt at rest there. No pain, no sickness, no crazy people or robots, just me and the endless land and maybe the First Prime, if he wanted to show up there. I wouldn't mind if he did, even if he was a little creepy; it was only because at the moment it seemed like he was the only sane person, er, god around anymore.

I mentally sighed as the voices soon calmed before silencing altogether. Maybe it's okay to wake up now? I honestly didn't want to deal with anyone right now, not after being...betrayed in a sense. I frowned mentally, I had trusted Lennox and he choose to lie to me, though Lennox never struck me as the 'mad scientist' type. Never mind the fact that he was a good guy, even in the movies. Yes, I had finally figured out who he was. The clues were pretty simple to piece together. His name is Major William Lennox, and he's one of the six soldiers to first be attacked by a Decepticon out in the desert, as well as be the 'NEST' team's leader, and seemed freaked out every time I or Carlos mentioned 'Transformers, and he has a giant-ass-trigger-happy-weapon-specialist for a guardian.

Yeah I can put two and two together.

Anyway, the simple fact was, was that I wasn't sick, anything but that. I had some stone-or shard-thing stuck in my chest, that was the cause of all my pain. Whether Lennox stuck it there or not, I didn't care, I would not trust the man or his robot friends again for a long time.

Then again, Lennox could have absolutely nothing to do with it. What if it was stuck there by the First Prime? Perhaps that was what he meant by change? A silent sigh escaped me; somehow, whether it was today or sometime in the future, I knew I would be apologizing to Lennox. But until then, I would give him the silent treatment...Yeah the silent treatment...

God I'm such a child.

Groaning in irritation, I allowed my body to wake first, twitching my fingers to test the awareness. Once I was sure my body was okay, in fact feeling much better then before I was sedated, I opened my eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light. Which oddly wasn't as bright as I thought it'd be, which in a way was confusing. Aren't I suppose to be in a hospital room? Blinking I sat up slowly, and looked over to my left, and the first thing my eyes landed on was the door, or in other words my escape route.

I'd have to be quick if I were to sneak out of here without alerting the giants or any human around. But then if I were to try escaping I should at least know the lay-out of the area around me... Fuck. Well there's a giant hole in that plan. I frowned, before stiffening at the sound of movement behind me. Turning my head, my eyes immediately made contact with a giant blue robot, who had his back to me and seemed to be looking through some holographic papers? I ceased movement altogether, fearing he had noticed me and would alert the others. Yet the only movement he made was to type something onto the holographic papers.

Who was this guy? I know for a fact it wasn't, Ratchet, was it? Yeah definitely not. And it sure as hell wasn't Ironhide, this guy was much smaller. I sat that way for a good minute or two, before I attempted to move again.

And what are the fucking odds of him noticing, now?

I moved maybe an inch and this guys weird wing struts stiffen, perking slightly, before he fully turns and focuses on me. We sat there for what seemed like forever, just staring at each other. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, but I know I was sizing him up, coming up with a multitude of ideas and ways my escape could possible go now that he saw me.

Then he moved, and I stiffened, ready to 'attempt' to run, if I had to. He walked slow, apparently it was clear that I did not like this situation one bit. When he did reach me, he bent over slightly, but still kept his distance. "How are you feeling?" I sat there starring at him dumbly, watching as his emotions slowly turned from calm to slightly panicked when I didn't answer, "Femme? Is your vocal processor injured?" He raised his hand and the same beam of light Ratchet used to scan me produced from the center of his hand, running over me staying a blue color.

"Scans are coming out normal...Maybe I should get Ratchet-"

"No!"

I had raised my hands as I shouted, stunning the bot before me into silence as he gazed at me with confusion. "I mean, I'm fine. You don't need to get the Hummer." His eyes dimmed in a blinking motion seeming confused before he chuckled lightly.

"You mean Ratchet?" he asked. I nodded, and he stood back at full height, tilting his head as he debated the idea, "Hm, Alright, seeing as scans are still turning up stable, and you seem to be functioning well mentally, I will not call for Ratchet." I sighed in relief, I really did not want to see the one who had sedated me in the first place, for one, I knew I was going to bitch about it if I did see him.

"My designation is Jolt." I looked up at him, as he raised one of his clawed fingers in the gesture of a hand shake, "I'm Ratchet's apprentice." I looked at his claw before resting my hand on it, in a bit of awe that he was extremely warm and not cold like normal metal.

"I'm Kari. It's nice to meet you Jolt." I gave him a smile of my own before removing my hand.

"So you're a medic then?" I asked, genuinely curious. This Jolt seemed like the only robot that didn't want to either kill or knock me out . Jolt shrugged.

"In a way, I'm still learning. So what is your directive?" Directive? What was that suppose to mean?

"Uh, Directive?" He 'blinked' again.

"Oh, um..." He tapped the side of his helm as he thought before turning back to me, "I believe the correct earth word would be 'Job'." I laughed lightly, it was cute. I never really thought that the Transformers would try and adapt or learn about our way of life.

A loud whirring sound, similar to that of fans kicking on caught my attention and I looked back up at him. He was rubbing the back of his helm, like a teenage boy would down in an embarrassing situation, "Sorry, I'm still learning Earth's languages." I smiled and shook my head gently.

"No, no it's okay. I understand. As for my job, well, I did help my mother raise cattle." Jolt tilted his head, whatever fans were on quieted down as he looked at me,

"Cattle? What are-"

He stopped suddenly, his eyes dimming a bit. I looked on confused and slightly worried, "Jolt are you okay?" His eyes lit up again and he smiled.

"I am fine. But Ratchet has comm'd me about your condition." I frowned, folding my arms over my chest,.

"I don't like where this is going" I grumbled. Jolt laughed lightly, though kept his serious tone.

"I know. But I cannot abandon my duty as a medic. The health of a patient comes first." I huffed letting my arms drop back onto my lap, and looked down.

"I was afraid of that."

"I told him that you are awake and well, and that your condition has not changed. And," I glanced up, as he nudged my arm lightly, well lets just say he treated me like I was the most fragile thing in the world. "I told him it was not your wish to see him at this time." I turned to him fully this time.

"I don't understand, why would you tell him that?"

"We do not wish to cause you harm. But it is my understanding that you do not want to see Ratchet simply because he was the one to sedate you. Am I not correct?" I stayed silent, quietly wondering how and if he just read my mind. Even when I didn't speak, he continued anyway, "Therefore, if he were to come in here without your consent it could be quite stressful for you, and to put stress on a patient in your condition would be dangerous."

I smiled softly. Jolt was definitely someone I could get used to being around, and the fact that he cared enough to keep Ratchet away for just a bit longer was nice. Though I knew I couldn't hide forever. My attempts to run would always backfire on me, and even if I did make it out, the situation was serious; I could be dying for all I knew, and I just couldn't leave Carlos like that. With a small sigh, I looked back over at Jolt, who during my time of thinking, had moved back over to his desk and was reading over paperwork again.

"He can come in now." I said.

It took a few moments, but Jolt finally looked back at me with a concerned expression, "Now? Are you sure? He can stay out for a bit longer if you like..." I smiled brightly, and shrugged.

"No it's fine, I can't run forever. So why hide when you can fight?" Jolt blinked, genuinely confused as he set the 'paper' down and turned fully towards me.

"I highly doubt you'll be fighting Ratchet anytime soon...Or ever for that matter." I stared dumbly at him for a second before bursting out in laughter, only causing him more confusion. It never occurred to me until now that they still may not understand human phrases.

"It's a phrase Jolt! It means I'd rather face my problems then run from them; it doesn't actually mean I plan on fighting Ratchet." I wiped the tears away as my laughter died down to snickers. I saw that Jolt was still slightly confused, and he just shook his head.

"You humans are strange."

"Thank you. I take that as a compliment."

Another shake of the head, as his eyes dimmed again. I could only guess he was receiving another comm from Ratchet. Looking away I found myself wondering if I was truly going insane, and Jolt wasn't a robot, but a doctor who was just going along with whatever it was I was saying. With this thought, I looked back over at the transformer standing over his desk, looking as real as real gets. I shook my head. I'm not creative enough to come out with something like him, even if I was insane.

"Hey Jolt?"

"Yes?" He looked over his shoulder at me expectantly.

"Where's my brother?" I asked him. Jolt chuckled, as he turned back to his work.

"In the rec room, with Ironhide. It's strange, those two seem inseparable, although Ironhide was always good with sparklings, even if he never liked to show it." I smiled; so big bad Ironhide kept his promise huh? Even if I wasn't dying it was nice to know that the black Autobot would care for Carlos in my absence. Grinning to myself, I looked back over at Jolt.

"What's a 'sparkling'? And for that matter; What's a 'femme'? Everyone seems to be calling me that."

"A sparkling would be similar to that of a child in Earth terms. And a femme is our rendition of an earth female. You humans have men and women, we have mechs and femmes." He looked back at me, "Understand?" I nodded, it did seem kind of funny that they've been essentially calling me a 'female' most of the time, which if you put it into their sentences it just gets funny. "Ratchet will be here in a few."

All the funny jokes flew from my head with those words. Sure I wasn't happy about seeing the over sized yellow toaster, but I'd have to face him some time, why not now? "Will you still be in here, when he gets here?" I asked looking back up at Jolt, who glanced over his shoulder.

"If you want me to stay I can." With a deep sigh, I smiled and nodded, before I looked towards the larger door next to Jolt's desk, from where I assumed Ratchet would enter. I knew things where going to go down if that medic even moved wrongly.

I smirked and shook my head. Well this was going to be the most awkward, stressful, and amusing situation I will ever be in.

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**Notes:** Sorry its so short. But I wanted to get this out. I've been getting a lot of reviews telling me to 'please continue' and I just received one that asked me 'not to give up'. Omg I would never! I am sorry it took so long though, it wasn't writers block that kept me at bay, I was really failing in school and had to catch up a lot of work, and I've also be out looking for a job as well as babysitting 24/7, so please forgive me for not updating.

Anyway this is sort of a filler chapter, because I wanted to give Kari someone she could trust to a small extent while having to deal with the upcoming issues. And sorry if I made Jolt seem a little OOC-ish he never showed his personality in the movies and I've never read the comics (if he was in any) so I kind of went for that embarrassed teenager/ big brother persona, hope I didn't kill him :| Anyway thanks again Bee for beta reading!

**~ Moontiger**

**R&R please :)**


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